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en-usEngadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronicsCopyright 2018 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/11/05/the-stream-team-villagers-and-heroes-from-an-eight-year-olds-p/https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/11/05/the-stream-team-villagers-and-heroes-from-an-eight-year-olds-p/https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/11/05/the-stream-team-villagers-and-heroes-from-an-eight-year-olds-p/#comments

Massively's Larry Everett introduced his eight-year-old son to the trailer to Villagers and Heroes, and the boy freaked out. The munchkin literally danced in place, asking when we'll be livestreaming the game. Join us live at 7:00 p.m. EST to see that it takes more than a village to raise the child of an MMO gamer -- it takes a few heroes, too.

Even though the market's currently populated with slabs such as Archos' ChildPad or LeapFrog's LeaPad 2, the race to become the go-to child-friendly tablet could still be considered as wide open. Having previously introduced its FunTab for kids, Ematic's not exactly a newcomer to this territory, and this time out the company's looking to build on that with the announcement of a slightly more powerful "Pro" model. Inside the 7-inch, 800 x 480 FunTab Pro, parents and children alike will find an undisclosed 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, a taste of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich and 8GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 32GB by way of microSD. Additionally, Ematic's placing emphasis on the built-in Zoodles features that "create a safe and educational online learning experience for children," plus the inclusion of pre-loaded apps like Skitch, School Assistant, Cut The Rope and none other than Angry Birds. The FunTab Pro will be available at Walmart (and other retailers) for $150 -- and, yes, that includes the colorful, interchangeable faceplates you see in the gallery below.%Gallery-167833%

For all the enthusiasm Oregon Scientific put into launching (and naming) its MEEP! tablet, the company has been a bit timid about getting the kid-friendly Android device into the market -- we're just seeing it go on sale eight months after it was first shown to the world. Now that the slate is here, it may be worth the patience from parents. The 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 chip, 512MB of RAM, 800 x 480 screen and 4GB of storage won't have the adults regretting their Kindle Fire purchases, but the MEEP! does come in a smash-resistant form with remote parental control and an allowance-based store that lets kids 'buy' apps with virtual coins. Oregon helps its case through the use of Ice Cream Sandwich, preloaded games like Angry Birds and a raft of accessories for games and music. The $150 asking price is just low enough that we can see a few families starting their youngest technophiles on a MEEP! before graduating them to bigger, badder tablets with less punctuation in the name.

Netflix's Just for Kids portal may already be a parent's ticket to saving money on endless Dora the Explorer DVDs without keeping a constant watch on the screen, but it has so far been left to consoles and the web. That's not much help to movie-loving grownups who'd sometimes like to free the PC or TV for their own streaming sessions -- so it's likely a relief to many that the Just for Kids interface is now available on iPads. Like on bigger screens, the mobile app provides a safe zone for the under-12 set that organizes videos into sections that junior viewers will more likely appreciate, such as sing-alongs and talking animals. For now, Android tablet owners and those holding on to first-generation iPads will be left out. It still shouldn't be too long before more adults can be sure their mobile-savvy kids are watching Curious George instead of Chasing Amy.

You might've already checked out our hands-on time with LeapFrog's next-gen LeapPad, but starting today, now you can finally get your own palms on the kid-friendly slate. The company -- who's also introduced us to the Explorer -- has announced its LeapPad 2 is now up for grabs at an array of online and brick-and-mortar shops, such as Target, Best Buy, Kmart, Amazon and, naturally, its very own site. Now, the $100 LeapPad 2 isn't anywhere near the same class as Mountain View's $200 Nexus 7, though for obvious reasons, as it's targeted at a completely different audience. In other words, those 100 bucks might just be enough to keep kids away from your precious every-day tablet. We'll let you decide that, however.

Parents who've already purchased Archos' 7-inch Child Pad may be feeling somewhat miffed, as its screen's been upgraded from resistive to capacitive just two months after launch. There's no such thing as free multi-touch, so you'll have to fork out another ten bucks on top of the original asking price for the new version of the ICS slate, bringing the total to a cent under $140. Other internals are identical, so customers can still expect a 1GHz ARM processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of expandable storage, with some exclusive chipmunk-based content to boot. Just remember to let the kids have a go once in a while.

Games for kids need to be safe for kids, and recent news about Habbo highlights the importance of this. In the aftermath of concerns raised in that community, Disney has decided to launch an expansive safety campaign for its popular Club Penguin title. The campaign will spend $4.7 million to target not only the children who who play the game but also parents through advertising on various media including websites, magazines, television, and in the game itself.

Club Penguin co-founder and Executive VP of Disney Online Studios Lane Merrifield emphasizes the company's stance on the importance of online safety and that education is a key element. Merrifield states, "From the very start, our vision for Club Penguin was to create a safe place for my kids and their friends to play online. The scale may now be bigger than I could ever have imagined but that philosophy has not changed. As an industry I think we can help teach kids the lessons that they need to become responsible digital citizens."
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browserbrowser-basedchild-friendlyclub penguinclub-penguindisneydisney-online-studiosf2pfamilyfamily-friendlyfree-to-playkidskids-gameslane-merrifieldmmo industrynews itemsonline-safetyonline-safety-campaignThu, 05 Jul 2012 13:30:00 -0400319|20272248https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/21/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-club-penguin/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/21/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-club-penguin/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/21/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-club-penguin/#comments

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family.

Perhaps the leading name in virtual worlds aimed at the younger set, Club Penguin has taken its place as the starter game of choice for many a young online gamer. Ask around any elementary school, and you're bound to find kids who're playing this Flash-based browser game.

We'd heard of the game too, of course -- but we'd never played. So let's take a look at how this virtual world of waddling friendlies stacks up against the rest of the kids' games we've reviewed in our Parent's Guide to Kids & Family Gaming.
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browserbrowser-basedcasualchild-friendlychildrenclub penguinclub-penguinf2pfamilyfamily-friendlyfamily-gamingfree-to-playfreemiumkid-friendlykidsmmo familymmo-familyparents-guideparents-guide-to-kids-and-family-gamingvirtual-worldvirtual-worldsTue, 21 Dec 2010 14:00:00 -0500319|19771241https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/30/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-world-of-warcraft/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/30/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-world-of-warcraft/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/30/mmo-family-a-parents-look-at-world-of-warcraft/#comments

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family.

World of Warcraft? Yeah, even folks who don't play video games at all have heard of this behemoth of MMO gaming. With 12 million subscribers worldwide, the WoW phenomenon has practically come to define an entire generation's worth of MMO gaming. While it's designed for teens and up, the game is so ubiquitous that you wouldn't have to dig far to find players of all ages, including many teens but also younger children as well.

With a new expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, due for release on December 7th, plenty of kids (and grownups) will be angling for WoW in their holiday stockings. The question is: Is WoW a good fit for your kids? With good preparation and consistent parent moderation, it can be -- but if you don't play the game yourself or you take a more hands-off approach to gaming, you may want to wait until your little goblin- or worgen-to-be is well into the teen years. Join us after the break for an insider's look at WoW for younger children and teens.
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cataclysmchild-friendlychildrenetiquettefamilyfamily-friendlyfamily-gamingfantasyfeaturedgroupinggroupsguildskid-friendlykidsmmo familymmo-familynetiquetteparentsraidingsupervisionteenagersteensworld of warcraftworld-of-warcraftwowTue, 30 Nov 2010 15:00:00 -0500319|19735447https://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/breakfast-topic-are-children-welcome-in-your-guild/https://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/breakfast-topic-are-children-welcome-in-your-guild/https://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/breakfast-topic-are-children-welcome-in-your-guild/#comments

Children are so much fun and a joy to have around, right? Maybe that's true in real life (at least for a lot of people), but in a guild setting in World of Warcraft, children present some difficult situations. I've been the "guild mom" for two guilds with child members (one who is between the ages of 8 and 15), so I've had a lot of experience.

We all have seen children in a guild. Many beg or ask for gold. They want to be run through instances or helped to level. They ask silly questions. And their reading levels may not be high enough for them to follow the quest text. Guild chat may be filled with: "Can someone help me level?" "Can I have some gold?" "Are we there yet?" And everyone has to watch what is said in guild chat.

Helping children to become strong guild members requires a commitment of time from other members. Some guilds do not want to give that time, so they say "adults only." Other guilds welcome children and work through the problems. All this requires some planning, some commitment of time and lots of patience. The good news is that as time goes on, children mature, and they may become a core of solid members for the future who know how to pass on the lessons they learned to the next generation.

Are children welcomed and helped in your guild? Does your guild restrict membership to adults only? Are children allowed, but everyone hates it when they are online?
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breakfast topicschildchild-friendlychildrenfacebookfeedfamily-friendlygame-discussiongamer-discussionguest postsguildskid-friendlykidsworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topicsWed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 -040099|19634006https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/mmo-family-video-game-violence-provokes-aggression-in-some-kids/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/mmo-family-video-game-violence-provokes-aggression-in-some-kids/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/mmo-family-video-game-violence-provokes-aggression-in-some-kids/#comments

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

Sensible parents have long recognized that the way kids react to video game violence varies according to their personalities. A recent post at Bitmob illustrated one parent's recognition of the innocence with which his four-year-old son approached an opportunity to play Grand Theft Auto. "I understand not every kid is like mine, so I wouldn't recommend that every parent allow their child to play Grand Theft Auto," he wrote. "But I would recommend that you listen and pay attention to your little ones to determine what they are capable of handling and what they are not ready for yet."

Now, new research tells us how to determine exactly that. A report in the June issue of Review of General Psychology has pinpointed the factors that determine why violent video games provoke hostile behavior in some teens but not in others.
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aggressionchildchild-friendlychildrenfamilyfamily-friendlyfamily-gamingfeaturedgrand-theft-autointernetkid-friendlykidsmiscellaneousmmo familyparentsresearchvideo-games-liveviolenceviolentTue, 15 Jun 2010 16:00:00 -0400319|19515567https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/01/mmo-family-screening-screen-time/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/01/mmo-family-screening-screen-time/https://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/01/mmo-family-screening-screen-time/#comments

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

One of the first topics we tackled here at MMO Family is how to tell when kids have had enough gaming time. As parents who game, we should be in a unique position to appreciate, respect and guide our children's attraction to games. But in the crush of day-to-day living, it's all too easy to let a few extra gaming minutes slip into half an hour ... past an hour ... into the evening ... into a habit that's begun eating away at family balance.

Some families keep a rein on gaming overdoses by instituting strict limits on screen time. What's considered part of the screen time quota varies from family to family; TV time is the bottom line, with movies, internet use and gaming time lumped in or added on top according to each family's habits and needs. We talked to Dr. Kourosh Dini, author of Video Game Play and Addiction: A Guide for Parents (now available completely online) and himself a gamer, for some professional perspectives on how to keep things in balance.
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childchild-friendlychildrenfamilyfamily-friendlyfamily-gamingfeaturedinternetkid-friendlykidsmmo familyparentsscreen-timetelevisiontime-managementtvTue, 01 Jun 2010 12:30:00 -0400319|19497874https://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/02/the-daily-grind-whats-a-good-first-mmo-for-a-child/https://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/02/the-daily-grind-whats-a-good-first-mmo-for-a-child/https://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/02/the-daily-grind-whats-a-good-first-mmo-for-a-child/#commentsOur Robin Torres writes a column called Gamer Interrupted, about mixing real life with gaming, and it's a wonderful read. In a recent post, the subject turned to how to make MMOs more child-friendly. A few specific titles were covered as well, including WoW and ToonTown Online, but it's worth asking if there are other good first MMO titles that are not only child-safe, but actively worthwhile for a kid to play, either alone or with a parent.

Obviously, we can mention Webkinz and Club Penguin, but are there others? Are there, in fact, any non-child MMOs that are safe for children to play?
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child-friendlychild-safechildrenclub penguinclub-penguinculturefirst-mmogame mechanicsgamer interruptedgamer-interruptedguideskidsmmo industryopinionrobin-torresthe daily grindthe-daily-grindtoontown onlinetoontown-onlinewebkinzworld of warcraftworld-of-warcraftSun, 02 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0500319|1128564